Welcome - my name is Kevin Klinkenberg, and this site "The Messy City" is my blog and company website. I started blogging on urban planning and design issues in 2007, and began working in the field in 1993. Please feel free to connect with me on any of the social media sites listed here. Thanks for reading.

Aug 5 July, you just whisked right by

Well, in case you missed one of my social media announcements, I started a new job in early July. Shockingly enough, it corresponded with an immediate drop off in activity on this blog. Here's a little more....

I've been hired as the Executive Director of the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority. The website hasn't been updated in about four or five years, so you'll notice a lack of key information. Naturally, we'll get that all corrected soon enough.

I'm incredibly honored to have been selected for this position, as it meshes with two things that I feel a great deal of passion for: redevelopment and the city of Savannah. If you've read anything on this blog, neither of those should come as much of a surprise.

But, it will come at a price. Namely, I won't be able to keep up the pace I've had for most of the year on this site. My hope is to work back into weekly posting, with perhaps some other sharing of articles or links that catch my attention, but expect it to be sporadic. For any of you in the planning or economic development world, you know the time demands of a position like this.

One last note... this month also does mark the release of the e-version of my book, Why I Walk. The paperback should be available by about the 1st of September. I'll be doing a few speaking events this fall, and please contact me if you're interested in hosting one. In addition, I have some books that I'll be selling directly off of this site that will be personally signed. More to come on that.

Thanks for all of your support and readership. Please keep reading, keep the discussion going and keep walking.

For many planners and designers, this book will challenge your thinking. Glaeser is an economist, and approaches issues of cities first and foremost from that standpoint. I found it very enlightening in many aspects (especially for global cities that I'm less familiar with) and would highly recommend the book. Glaeser makes a great case for the economic importance of cities, and also for more market-based approaches to planning for development.

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Kevin

House plans from 180 Urban Design and Architecture - now available at Allison Ramsey Architects. Click here to see the portfolio and purchase.